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Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH. If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions. (I love saying that!!)
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My last post was all about "How to Make a Quilt Label".
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I also talked about "Where to Attach a Quilt Label".
When the labels are all done - I attach them to the lower back of the quilt.
The question is then - which "side" of the back - lower left side or lower right side?
As I look at the back of the quilt - my natural tendency is to want to attach the label to the lower right side. It just seems more visually pleasing to my eye.
However - my long-arm quilter/friend disagreed - and won!! She said it should be attached to the lower left side. Her reasoning was that - if the quilt were ever entered in a Quilt Show - the "white-glove ladies" usually stand at the right side of the quilt (as you face the quilt) - all ready to flip the quilt over to show you the label - if you ask. In order to do that - the label has to be on that side - which is the left side as you look at the back of the quilt!!
Is this a right-handed world or what?!
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Then - Heather (A Passionate Quilter) asked me how I apply the label to the quilt.
Great Question!!
I told her that it depends.
I know that sounds like a crappy answer - but there are tons of ways to attach a label to a quilt - and I use a couple of different ones - depending on the effect I want - and depending on whether I want to sew the label on by hand or by machine.
Method #1 - Machine sew the label - topstitch about 1/4" in from the edge
If I don't care if the label stitching shows on the front of the quilt - or if I think I can disguise the stitching well enough to where it is virtually invisible -
I just topstitch the label down - about 1/4" in from the edge
This is a Miniature Watercolor Quilt I made a while back.
The front -
the back -
and the label (kinda crooked - but - hey - it's ON!)
And - as you can see - the label stitching barely shows on the front.
Or this label that I made "log-cabin" style
and as seen from the front
Method #2 - Machine sew the label - using a decorative stitch
If I think the stitching won't show on the front of the quilt -
I sometimes stitch the label down - using a decorative stitch.
Here I used a "blanket" stitch
And from the front - you can barely see the stitching.
Method #3 - Hand-stitch the label - using an "invisible applique" stitch
If I don't want the stitching to show on the front of the quilt - at all -
I will hand-stitch the label down - using an "invisible applique" stitch -
making sure that the stitching goes through the backing - catching a bit of the batting - but not all the way through to the front of the quilt.
(I'll tell you all about that stitch when I post my progress on my Stage 7 - Floral Applique UFO.)
In general - I prefer to hand-stitch my labels down. I just think that they look better and more professional that way. (And it is a MUST if you enter a quilt in a quilt show. I do believe that the Quilt Police frown on machine-sewn labels!)
But - when I make a quilt for my grandkids - I will machine-sew the label - for durability. (And I'm pretty good at making sure the stitching doesn't show much on the front of the quilt!)
The bottom line - how you apply your label to your quilt is personal preference.
Oh, and by the way - I'm making another rule -
Rule #4 - Don't be Afraid to Annoy the Quilt Police!
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
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